Movies

New DVDs due for release Nov. 8

DUE OUT TUESDAY

THE CHANGE-UP (Universal) Two old friends - one a cautious, responsible family man, the other a freewheeling, chick-magnet slacker - get to play role-reversal when a half-serious wish leads them to magically switch bodies. Raunchy, predictable comedy saved from over-familiarity by great performances by Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds as the body-switchers. (R; pervasive crude sexual content and language, some nudity, drug use) ** 1/2

ATLAS SHRUGGED: PART ONE (Fox) In a future America racked by high gas prices and government-enforced egalitarianism, a female industrialist trying to save her business discovers that many leading industrialists are disappearing from the economic scene. Big-screen adaptation of the first third of Ayn Rand's uber-influential 1957 novel. (PG-13; sexuality) Not reviewed.

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY (Strand Releasing) French director Catherine Breillat's second film in a projected trilogy of deconstructed fairy tales for adults. Shown at this year's Milwaukee Film Festival. In French with English subtitles. (Not rated) Not reviewed.

LIFE IN A DAY (Arts Alliance) Crowd-sourced documentary, by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald and five other filmmakers, designed to capture what it was like to live on Earth on a single day, July 24, 2010. (PG-13; violent images, language) Not reviewed.

THE SACRED (Osiris) College students studying American Indian folklore venture deep into a Florida swamp, and find a site where sins are brought back to life. With Jordan Wall, Lauren Brown. (Not rated; violence, mature content) Not reviewed.

BEETHOVEN'S CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE (Universal) An elf crashes Santa's sleigh in a small town, where thieves make off with Mr. Claus' magic bag - threatening Christmas for all, unless a certain slobbering St. Bernard can save the day. (PG; some mild rude humor) Not reviewed.

A BETTER TOMORROW (Well Go USA) A Korean mobster fresh from prison may have to go up against his long-lost brother, a cop, to take on the crime boss who set him up. Remake of 1986 Hong Kong action classic. In Korean and Thai, with English subtitles. (R; violence, language) Not reviewed.

SUPER 8 (Paramount), SARAH'S KEY (Weinstein), SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN 4D (Anchor Bay), THE DEVIL'S DOUBLE (Lionsgate), CONAN THE BARBARIAN (Lionsgate), THE FAMILY TREE (Entertainment One), TRIGGER (Wolfe) CHRISTMAS MAIL (Monarch), THE RAINBOW TRIBE (Monarch)

RECENTLY RELEASED

CARS 2. When race car Lightning McQueen and his buddy Mater go to the World Grand Prix, Mater's mistaken for a spy. Sequel to 2006 Pixar favorite is a bit better than the original, thanks to the story's broader scope. With voices by Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, John Turturro, Tony Shalhoub, Eddie Izzard, Vanessa Redgrave and Milwaukee-area car dealer (and former race-car driver) David Hobbs. (G) ***

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE. After learning his wife wants a divorce, a man played by Steve Carell gets counsel on rejoining the dating scene from a smooth-talking womanizer with relationship issues, played by Ryan Gosling. This paint-by-numbers bromantic dramedy leaves no emotional or demographic button unpushed. With Julianne Moore as Carell's agonizing wife, and film-stealing performances by Emma Stone, as the object of Gosling's affection, and Analeigh Tipton as a baby sitter with a crush on Carell. (PG-13; crude humor, sexual content, language) ** 1/2

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. Robert Pattinson plays a young man who, after a tragedy, winds up joining a traveling circus and falls for the show's star attraction - who happens to be married to the circus' abusive ringmaster. Based on Sara Gruen's popular bestseller. With Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Walz, Hal Holbrook. (PG-13; violence, sex) Not reviewed.

SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN. Two friends' relationship is echoed in the story one writes about a pair of BFFs in 19th-century China. Drama based on Lisa See's international bestseller doesn't have much to say in either time period. Directed by Wayne Wang. In Mandarin and English, with English subtitles. (PG-13; sex, violence, disturbing images, drug use) **

MAGIC TRIP. Filmmakers Alex Gibney and Allison Ellwood reconstruct Ken Kesey's 1964 cross-country trip with his band of Merry Pranksters, using only the footage shot during the journey and voice-overs by the participants. (R; drug use, language, some nudity) ***

TABLOID. Documentary by Oscar-winning (and UW-Madison grad) filmmaker Errol Morris about the frenzy surrounding the case of a former beauty queen who kidnaps a man she had fallen for who had left her to go on a Mormon mission to England. (R; sex, nudity) Not reviewed.

THE NUTCRACKER: THE UNTOLD STORY. Abstract reworking of holiday classic, with Elle Fanning, Nathan Lane, John Turturro. Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. Released in theaters last year as "The Nutcracker in 3D." (PG; mature theme, scary images, brief smoking) Not reviewed.

TRESPASS. A gang of criminals breaks into a wealthy couple's (Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman) home in a gated community, but when the crooks push them too far, they strike back. (R; violence, pervasive language, brief drug use) Not reviewed.

REJOICE AND SHOUT. Documentary charts the history of gospel music, featuring a wealth of archival performance clips. (PG; mature theme, some smoking) Not reviewed.

AN INVISIBLE SIGN. Jessica Alba as a loner with a gift for numbers who is coaxed out of her shell to teach elementary school math. With Chris Messina, J.K. Simmons. (PG-13; mature theme, disturbing images) Not reviewed.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (Paramount) During World War II, a weakling with loads of fighting spirit is injected with a super-serum that makes him into the ultimate American fighting soldier - just in time to find out the Nazis have similar ideas. The summer's latest comic-book movie, itself a prequel of sorts to next summer's "Avengers" movie. With Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving. (PG-13; action violence) ***

WINNIE THE POOH (Disney) The beloved, silly old bear's quest for some honey is complicated by a misunderstanding. New movie based on the beloved A.A. Milne story and characters, done in old-school hand-drawn animation. (G) ***

PEARL JAM TWENTY (Columbia) Documentary by Cameron Crowe on the grunge rock survivors, marking their 20th year in the biz. (Not rated) Not reviewed.

ATTACK THE BLOCK (Sony) Buzzed-about British sci-fi action movie about brutal London gangbangers taking on extraterrestrial invaders who encroach on their turf. (R; language, violence, drug use) Not reviewed.

FATHER OF INVENTION (Anchor Bay) An inventor and infomercial king, played by Kevin Spacey, tries to rebuild his life after one of his gadgets' defects gets him eight years in prison. (PG-13; sex, language) Not reviewed.

A LITTLE HELP (Image) A widow's life is complicated by a lie that her 12-year-old son tells about his father's death - that he died on Sept. 11. Comedy with Jenna Fischer, Chris O'Donnell. (R; language, some sex and drug use) Not reviewed.

Star ratings are from reviews by film critic Duane Dudek and other reviewers for the Journal Sentinel. For more, see jsonline.com/movies.